


can't get you outta my head

by chanscrown



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bang Chan is Whipped, Bartender Bang Chan, Blind Date, Clubbing, Crushes, Denial of Feelings, First Meetings, Happy Ending, Implied Sexual Content, Lee Minho | Lee Know Is Bad at Feelings, M/M, One-Sided Relationship, Protectiveness, Self-Denial, Strangers to Lovers, chan saves minho, getting hit on, side BinSung
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:15:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28152231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chanscrown/pseuds/chanscrown
Summary: jisung's stupid friend bang chan and his stupid charming smile are stuck in minho's head.and he would like the suffering to end-includingjisung's pestering because there's no way in hell he finds his stupid friend attractive, nor holds any type of liking or crush towards him at all.no one said anything about minho having a crush though.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 16
Kudos: 180
Collections: A thousand memories and a million more to come





	can't get you outta my head

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [SKZMemories](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SKZMemories) collection. 



> happy 1000 days of stray kids! i loved participating in this lil project and i hope you support everyone who contributed to this as well!
> 
> this work was entirely inspired by the song "outta my head" by queen somi!  
> listen to it here: <https://open.spotify.com/track/0NaccQM71LPaoSS8EZ0KhW>

Lee Minho has a problem.

 _  
The problem?  
_Han Jisung.

 _Why?  
_ Because he doesn’t know how to fucking _shut up_.

 _And why won’t Han Jisung shut up?  
_Because said person delusionally believes that he, Lee Minho, has a crush on one of Jisung’s friends.

  
Minho will be more than glad to explain why his best friend jumped to such a conclusion. Earlier this week, Minho walked into a cafe assuming he'd be having a normal lunch with solely Han Jisung only to realize later his so-called "best friend" and his best friend's boyfriend, Seo Changbin, had set him up on a blind double date with Changbin and Jisung's coworker slash other best friend.

Their best friend's name? Bang Chan.

Minho should've known something was off the moment Jisung called him last minute, asking if he was available for lunch.

"Over here, Min!" Jisung ecstatically waved his friend over to the table.

As he walked over to the dreaded table, Minho clenched his fists and smiled a bit _too_ tightly to hold himself back from strangling his future ex-best friend.  
  


Lunch was fine as Minho enjoyed his slightly bland salad while enduring the problem that first started with Han Jisung but later transferred to _Bang Chan._

He has no problems against Bang Chan, other than the fact that the man was _extremely_ kind and friendly to the point where it made Minho suspicious. Throughout their double date lunch with Jisung and Changbin, watching the two of them across the table like hawks, Chan would always start the conversation with essential conversational starters or talk nonstop in general alongside Jisung and Changbin.

However, Minho usually cut the conversation short or did not respond in general by turning back to his salad in peace.

Minho doesn't want to be mean, but Bang Chan doesn't precisely check off his boxes when it comes to an ideal man no matter how much Jisung proclaims that Bang Chan is "a dreamboat that checks off even his future parents-in-laws' boxes without realizing yet."

At the same time, he hates to admit it, but he'd appreciate someone that was _slightly_ a bit taller.

...Okay, that was really mean.

  
What doesn't help is the events that occurred afterward, consisting of Jisung's nagging of, "You like Channie-hyung!" or "Are you and Channie-hyung a couple now?"

Simultaneously, for god knows what, that particular friend of Jisung's hasn't exactly left Minho's mind, especially how his voice sounds that already gave you a slight indication that Chan was definitely not from here.

Nor did Chan's stupid smile, for some reason, leave his mind either.

Out of all the things, a _smile?_ Really, Minho, you should be proud of yourself for remembering something so dumb like that.

That Bang Chan doesn't even have a sense of style! Who walks into a lunch all-black from head-to-toe in long sleeves on a hot summer afternoon?  
Someone stupid, that's for sure!

  
Sure, Minho only got Chan's number to make Jisung happy, but it _didn't_ mean he would text it or contact him in the near future. Why would he put himself through that stress? Plus, Jisung was the one who gave Chan's number to him out of nowhere. Chan would probably be freaked out and consider Minho a stalker if he ever did reach out for fun, which is an example of something he _won't_ do.

"You should give Chan a chance, hyung!" Jisung encouraged him when making an uninvited appearance at Minho's apartment the other day. The other groaned. "For the last fucking time, Jisung quit telling me to give that _weirdo_ a chance because he's not my type!"

Jisung doesn't stop, though. "Seriously, Minho, I think Chan likes you- as in, he's taking an interest in you!"

"Cool," Minho spats, "Feel free to tell him I don't feel the same way."

  
Bang Chan still doesn't leave Minho's mind that week to no avail.

As Minho stabbed through the quick salad he bought from the convenience store across his workplace, he can't help but think of Bang Chan's cringy conversational-starting comment of, "So you're a lettuce enthusiast, huh?" back when they first met.

Thinking about said comment makes Minho toss the poor salad away after two bites.

  
This brings Minho to now- Friday night, passing a bouncer with ease as he makes his way inside a dimly-lit neon lights club surrounded by people left and right.  
Minho hasn't had "fun" in a while, and this week has called for a time to get loose. 

He hasn't had alcohol in his system in a while, and knowing how his tolerance was on a stereotypical "Karen drunk after one glass of wine" level, he wasn't expecting much except a cab ride home later, which means he doesn't have much to lose.

  
As he pushes his way through the glowing bar in the far corner deep inside the club, bass continuing to blast in all four corners around him, Minho can't help but immediately go back to a cringy yet cheesy comment from Jisung, "Hey, you're lonely; Chan's lonely, you'd two make a great team!"

 _Alcohol and I_ _are a much better combination,_ Minho thinks to himself as he quickly takes a seat at one of the many bar stools surrounding the large bar. The bartender's back is turned to him as he seemed to be currently preoccupied with something.

"I'll be with you in a moment."

  
Minho raises an eyebrow at the message.  
That voice seemed oddly familiar, but _where_?

  
Minho's question's immediately answered when said bartender turns around with a cloth and a few shot glasses in hand, indicating that he was doing some cleanliness tasks earlier.

"You've got to be kidding me," Minho loudly deadpans.

  
The bartender's confused at first, but Minho watches as the other studies his face for a minute before it finally clicks.

"Hey, I recognize you- aren't you Jisung's friend?" the bartender grins.

  
Minho boredly nods.

"Yup, that's me."

The bartender smiles again. "Cool! Minho.... right?"

 _The cheesy yet cringy personality is popping out again;_ Minho internally groans before nodding at the other.

  
"Yeah... And you're...?"   
Minho doesn't want to say it.

"Bang Chan," the bartender finishes, reaching out for a handshake. Minho accepts it with a grudge. "It's good to see you again. I had a nice time meeting you the other day, too."

Minho wants to puke.

"Likewise," he responds.  
_Liar._

  
Minho can visibly tell that Bang Chan's seemingly all-black agenda has not changed tonight, either; just slightly a bit more professional.

As his shaggy brown hair from earlier this week is now gelled-up and showcasing more of his forehead, Jisung's weird friend is also wearing a black button-up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, showcasing muscle that Minho was surprised to see the other have.

He looks... alright, tonight, Minho guesses.

"So," Chan interrupts the other's thoughts, "What can I do for you tonight?"

  
Minho shrugs. "Give me something that'll give me a kick. I don't care, your pick."

The bartender gives him an odd look. " _My_ pick? Are you sure you're not craving anything specific?" Chan asks.

Minho raises an eyebrow at the other. "No?" Knowing that Chan's a bartender, he's pretty sure many patrons before have asked Chan for his pick and didn't care.

"I just need something to take my mind off a couple of things."  
_Particular bartender in front of me included._

  
Chan is silent for a few moments before shrugging. "Alright, one special coming up," he tells him before turning back around.

As Chan is working on god-knows-what and seemed to be talking to himself, Minho twists his stool around to watch the lively club scene in front of him. He should really go out and dance in a little bit as the dance floor- as well as the accompanying bass beats surrounding him- eagerly seem to call his name. 

He doesn't know how long it's been until he hears Chan set a chilled shot glass in front of him and turns his head around to see the other pouring out a gradient pink-orange liquid before garnishing with a light orange peel.

"I call it an _Aussie Sunrise._ " Chan introduces.

  
Minho doesn't say anything except down the shot in one go before slamming his one-and-only twenty-dollar-bill on the table. "Thanks," he quickly gets out before making his way straight to the dance floor. He has a schedule to keep up with, and Bang Chan was _not_ apart of it.

After a couple of minutes of walking around with the alcohol buzzing through his system with every step, Minho eventually finds an open area to dance in and begins to sway his hips freely to the music; Neon lights sway back and forth around him, and Minho can feel all eyes on him as he grinds to the pleasant track playing inside the club currently, Minho just needed to let loose tonight. After seeing Bang Chan (in which he didn't want to), Minho needs this more than ever.

  
The aura is immediately halted to a stop when he feels foreign hands touching his lower rear, to which he immediately turns around in annoyance.

"Can I help you?" he asks the stranger, who smugly smirks at the question.

"Yeah, baby, you can help me by letting me get you out of here and into my sheets," he answers, attempting to bring his hands up closer, only to get them slapped away from Minho.

  
"I'm not interested," Minho tells him and begins to walk away in the opposite direction. Still, the gross stranger doesn't take no for an answer, immediately seizing Minho's right arm and holding a firm grip onto it, preventing the other from leaving. Minho, now clearly angered by the situation, turns around.

"Let go of me, asshole!" he grits out, but the stranger only grips the other tighter.

"Oh, baby, you're gonna regret calling me that," the stranger begins.

  
Just as Minho is about to say something in protest once more, the grip the stranger once had on Minho is instantly released, followed by a loud gasp within the crowd as Minho watches the gross stranger gets punched in the face by somebody else.

That 'somebody else' clutching a bruised right fist in his hands was bartender _Bang Chan_.

Who's left arm seemed to have wrapped himself around Minho's waist protectively.

And he looked _mad._

  
"He told you wasn't interested, man," the bartender snaps at him. "Don't fucking do that shit."

Turns out Bang Chan knew how to curse. What are the odds?

The stranger, clearly in shock by the other's change in behavior, begins to stammer on the ground. "H-hey man, I didn't mean to-"

"Save it," Chan loudly spats, "Just get your ass out of here, or I'll handle you again myself."

Minho's speechless.

On that note, two bouncers begin to clear the area and escort said predator stranger out of the club, resuming the standard club atmosphere once more.

  
As the bass continues to pound once more, Minho feels the weight on his waist immediately drop as he turns to see a concerned Bang Chan in front of him.

He doesn't know what to say.

Except that Bang Chan saved him.

And looks _slightly_ hot under the blazing neon lights shining on him.

Not that he would say that in person.

Minho's just acknowledging it. That's all.

  
Once again, his thoughts are interrupted by a certain male who asks him with a soft, "Hey, are you okay?" which sends him straight back to reality.

Minho nods.

  
"Yeah... Thanks for doing that," he tells Chan before staring down at his clutched red fist. "I'm sorry about your fist. If that didn't happen, I'm sure I-"

Chan shakes his head. "Don't worry about it, Minho. I'm just glad I got here in time."

Minho blinks at him, too busy lost in the other's attractiveness and strength from his actions from earlier.

"Come on, let's go back to the bar," Chan says, automatically grabbing onto the other's hand and leading them out of the dance floor.

Minho's definitely blushing right now. He's not sure if it's because of the alcohol or his feelings.

  
Okay, so maybe 'saving your life from a predator situation' became a bonus box on Minho's list that Chan checked off multiple times just now.

...And that Chan maybe deserved a second shot at checking the rest of Minho's boxes?

 _Yes, he did_.

  
As Minho sits back down on the barstool he once sat in earlier; Chan walks back to his position behind the bar counter- this time holding an ice pack to his fist.

Minho furrows his eyebrows in concern, and although Chan is giving him a sheepish look to tell him that's fine, Minho doesn't think so. The other automatically reaches for the towel Chan used earlier that night and grabbed the ice pack from the bartender's hand before wrapping said pack around the towel and applying gentle pressure to the other's hand instead.

"Thanks," the bartender says.

"Of course. This is my fault, after all."

Chan shakes his head. "Nah, if anything, it was that jerk's fault. He got what was coming to him for messing with you in the first place."

"I guess, but you still got hurt, though," Minho frowns, but the bartender waves his other hand in disagreement. "Nah, I'm alright," the bartender chuckles.

  
There's a lingering silence in the air with nothing but the sounds of bass boosting.

Minho's mind is going everywhere- that alcohol did _not_ help, especially when it came to trying to get rid of the thoughts of a specific male bartender who's in front of him right now.

  
Chan finally breaks the silence.

"You know..." he begins as the two of them make eye-contact once more, "I get off in an hour if you wanted to get out of here the moment I'm off the clock."

Minho widens his eyes.

"Unless you don't want to, of course!" Chan adds. "I'm not forcing you to anything you're uncomfortable with..."

Bang Chan would _never_ make Minho uncomfortable.

Bang Chan instead makes Minho feel _safe_ and trustworthy.

  
"Like if you don't want to, just say i-"

"-I don't mind waiting, Chan," Minho cuts him off with a smile.

Immediately the bartender's nervous expression softens into his usual grin.

"Great! So it's cool if you sit for an hour?"

Minho nods.

"Cool," Chan comments, "Cool, cool, cool."

  
Minho giggles at Chan's awkwardness, who only winks back.

So _maybe_ Lee Minho has a small crush on Bang Chan now.

  
Within that hour, Minho ends up squirming back-and-forth in his seat because bartender Bang Chan with rolled-up sleeves, gelled-up hair, and cool comments to other patrons to get extra tips _hit_ differently. Minho unintentionally becomes more attracted to him when learning that the man was fluent in English after perfectly rapping alongside a verse to a recently popular English rap song when no one else was around them. (He should've paid attention during that one lunch date when Chan said he was from Australia.)

And when that hour finally passed, the two of them immediately left with the bartender's arm possessively holding onto the other's waist as they drove to Chan's apartment. The moment they arrive, Minho has time to barely register Chan's simple taste in home decor when lips touch lips and is quickly whisked to the master bedroom from there.

  
That next morning, with a small ache in his lower area and a gorgeous grinning man with the body of a Greek god next to him, Lee Minho realizes that maybe Bang Chan might stay stuck in his head from now on.

Not that he's complaining, of course; he likes it.

(Over breakfast, Chan ends up telling him that while he does have a dog back home, cats are also a gift to mankind. Minho kisses him right then and there.)

**Author's Note:**

> i will never stop simping for minchan .
> 
> UPDATE: reveals are here! thank you so much for reading!
> 
> feel free to follow or interact w me here:  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/caratchans) | [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/skzminchan) | [carrd](https://mazeofmemories.crd.co)
> 
> have a lovely day!  
> \- gia :))


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